Blog Action Day: Poverty

What can we really do about poverty? Does just raising awareness about it make any difference?

The short answer to that is of course not. But I think that the long answer is so much more.

When I head to the Dominican Republic in just 2 1/2 weeks (yikes!), I will be able to witness the effects of poverty on a country and its people. The rest of the Compassion Bloggers and I will be doing our part not only to raise awareness, but to try to move you to action — to sponsor a child , to evaluate how you spend your money and how you live your life as compared to how so many live around the world.

Did I say “you,” — as in how do you spend your money, how do you live your life? I should have said me. I’ll be experiencing it, and I’ve no doubt that my thoughts about poverty will be changed, but I’m hoping that my actions will be changed as well — beyond supporting international efforts such as Compassion’s. Perhaps it will be through more generous giving, or some sort of service and action here in Connecticut when I return home.

I’m not sure, but I’m willing to find out.

I also wrote about how reading books has opened my eyes about the plight of those in poverty at 5 Minutes for Books today.

I came across something about Blog Action Day a month or so ago, and saw that this year’s topic was poverty. Since I’m going to the Dominican Republic in November to blog about poverty firsthand and specifically Compassion International’s work to help meet the needs of those in poverty, I thought I should participate in this worldwide bloggy event.